Does the formatter preserve CDATA and comments?

Yes — CDATA blocks, processing instructions, and comments are kept intact and re-indented to match the surrounding tree. Only whitespace between tags changes.

Will it validate my XML?

No. The formatter works on any XML-shaped text, even invalid documents — useful for inspecting broken templates. Use the XML Validator for strict parsing.

What about namespaces?

Namespaces (`xmlns:`) are preserved exactly as written. The formatter does not collapse or resolve prefixes.

Does it change attribute quoting?

Normalizes to double quotes by default (the XML standard preference). Toggle 'preserve quotes' to keep single quotes where you used them.

XML Formatter | DevTools Surf

DevTools Surf

Example: XML Formatter

A worked example, rendered from real sample data. Sign in to run the tool on your own input.

Input

<catalog><book id="1"><title>Developer Tools</title><author>John Doe</author><price>29.99</price></book><book id="2"><title>Web Development</title><author>Jane Smith</author><price>39.99</price></book></catalog>

Output

<catalog>
  <book id="1">
    <title>Developer Tools</title>
    <author>John Doe</author>
    <price>29.99</price>
  </book>
  <book id="2">
    <title>Web Development</title>
    <author>Jane Smith</author>
    <price>39.99</price>
  </book>
</catalog>

About XML Formatter

Format and prettify XML documents. Part of the DevTools Surf developer suite. Browse more tools in the XML collection.

Use Cases

Java developers formatting Maven POM or Spring config files
Integration engineers reading SOAP service responses
DevOps engineers prettifying CI/CD pipeline XML configs
Data analysts inspecting XML data exports from legacy systems

Tips

Choose between 2-space and 4-space indentation styles
Paste single-line XML to quickly reveal its hierarchy
Verify that CDATA sections are preserved after formatting

Fun Facts

XML 1.0 was published as a W3C Recommendation on February 10, 1998, derived from SGML which dates back to 1986.
The XML specification was authored by a working group of 11 members led by Jon Bosak of Sun Microsystems.
XML namespaces, introduced in 1999, solved element naming conflicts but remain one of XML's most confusing features.

FAQ

Does the formatter preserve CDATA and comments?: Yes — CDATA blocks, processing instructions, and comments are kept intact and re-indented to match the surrounding tree. Only whitespace between tags changes.
Will it validate my XML?: No. The formatter works on any XML-shaped text, even invalid documents — useful for inspecting broken templates. Use the XML Validator for strict parsing.
What about namespaces?: Namespaces (`xmlns:`) are preserved exactly as written. The formatter does not collapse or resolve prefixes.
Does it change attribute quoting?: Normalizes to double quotes by default (the XML standard preference). Toggle 'preserve quotes' to keep single quotes where you used them.

Related XML Tools

XML Minify XML Viewer XML Pretty Print XML Validator XML Editor XML Parser WSDL Formatter SOAP Formatter